Author(s): S. R. Grattan

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Abstract: Irrigation with saline drainage water may be a viable option to certain annual crop growers that need to reduce the volume of drainage effluent or to periodically supplement fresh water supplies. This is particularly attractive to growers on the western portion of the San Joaquin valley that must manage high saline water tables without opportunities for off-site disposal of drainage water or that are faced with reductions in fresh water supplies during periods of drought.Long-term field experiments (i.e. 6 yrs or more) conducted primarily by scientists from the USDA/ARS and University of California have demonstrated that saline drainage water applied in a cyclic manner can be used successfully as a supplemental source of irrigation water under the conditions tested. This paper reviews and synthesizes what has been learned from these studies and discusses the limits to which drainage water can be used for irrigation. The factors that affect these limits include the crop rotation and crop tolerance to salinity, the salinity and trace element concentration of both water supplies, the fraction of the season that drainage water is used for irrigation, the long-term effects on soil structure and whether the drainage water is blended or used cyclically. There are also economic, environmental and political factors that play an important role.

DOI:

Year: 1997